Putin shipping Assad more weapons to crush rebels

Apparently the 'Miracle Proposal' to have Syria surrender all their chemical weapons and what not is only about that and only that ?

It seems the civil war will continue unabated.

The fight continues anyway.

Any 'normal' person would think the warring sides would try to stop all the fighting as long as they're 'talking' and appearing to be
'diplomatic' ?

Israel TV: Russia steps up supplies as part of deal for regime to place its WMD stockpiles under supervision; Syrian FM: ‘We intend to give up
chemical weapons altogether’

In return, Putin promised bolstered conventional weapons shipments, “some of which are already on their way” to Syria from the Russian Black Sea
port of Novorossiysk. The TV report did not specify which weaponry Putin is supplying to Assad, but noted that the Syrian regime needs more fighter
planes for use to quash rebel forces, spare parts for tanks, and all kinds of other military equipment to replenish stocks depleted during the
two-and-a-half years of fighting that have left well over 100,000 Syrians dead.

So What Exactly is the REAL Goal ?

What Exactly *ARE* the

Russian / Syrian / American Intentions ?

The 'warring sides' aren't talking. This is a conversation between the West (aka the U.S.) and Syria/Russia. Didn't see the 'opposition'
invited to any discussions. I'm sure Russia is going to continue to ship arms at an accelerated rate (as long as Syria can pay the bill). After
all, Russia needs Syria to remain intact to protect their gas monopoly in Europe.

To be honest I have never seen an end to the Syrian war until one side gives up or is annihilated, both will probably equal to the same thing.

Obama is trying to save political face with these new talks and ideas proposed, we all know going in to Syria was never about securing chemicals. They
wanted the "job" to be done, probably before winter. Now it looks like Assad will last that long and will still be getting the supplies he needs.

Maybe if no western strikes happen and Assad lasts the winter, then he could crush these rebels before the next summer. The rebels will not be as
effective in the cold of winter and I can imagine the guerrilla style of warfare is just not as effective in the cold.

Will Assad be safe enough and granted enough time to bolster his troops to a point where they can effectively seek out, destroy and then hold points
where rebels are?

Assad needs manpower. Weapons shipments will not change the flow of the conflict. Assad has fomed some mlitias from the costal area that is the
only place fully loyal to him. Most of the Syrian Army has left him and he is not getting anybody to replace them because they chage sides as soon as
they can. He has the Iranians, Hezbollah and Lebanese militias to prop him and slow the rebel advances. The real problem for Assad is the nature of
the rebel force. Sure their are some militias and radical groups inlcluding this linked to Al Quaida but, they are very limited in what they can do.
Bombings, soft targets, logistical raids etc is what they are limited to. They are not the real problem. The real problem is the core of the rebel
forces are the Syrian Army that changes sides. That means the can and do win stand up fights with Assads forces. They are what makes a the rebels a
direct threat instead of just and annoyance. The rebels also have the vast majority of the population behind them and thus plenty of voluteers. The
problem is arming and training them. That is where the West and the US could make a difference. So far nobody outside of the Arab States (who
ironicly are buying Chinese and Russian weapons) is arming the rebels. Europe and the US have both said they were going to but, they have not gotten
around to it yet. If they do so, in particular if they help train them the rebels will be able to wrap things up much faster. However, that would
also mean the radical groups would begin fighting the rebels early before Assad falls and that could get ugly.

Ya, people here will continue to pretend Al Qaeda is the rebels so they can say falsely that the US is arming Al Qaeda. They cling to their propaganda
points.
Al Qaeda will continue to do the most heinous things because they know it gets blamed on the rebels. Al Qaeda are not winning any hearts and minds by
committing atrocities, and they don't care to, they employ these tactics as they fight Assad to also create distrust for the rebels among the Syrian
people and the West to diminish any aid the rebels may receive.

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